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Newton County approves $10,000 amendment for justices of the peace mileage reimbursement
Summary
The commissioners approved a $10,000 budget amendment to reimburse justices of the peace for in-county travel when performing official duties in personal vehicles; the court discussed allocation by precinct and possible technical fixes to reduce travel.
The Newton County Commissioners Court voted to add $10,000 to be split among the budgets for the justice of the peace (JP) offices in Precincts 1–4 to cover mileage reimbursement when JPs use personal vehicles for county business while on call. The funding is intended to reimburse travel related to official duties (for example, in-county inquests or jail-related travel) and not routine commutes to and from work.
Commissioners cited a current benchmark of 70 cents per mile for comparable county reimbursements and said some JPs lose several thousand dollars a year on travel tied to county duties. One participant said, "we're not talking about increasing the pay of anyone in the county; we're just talking about paying them what we owe them," emphasizing the distinction between salary and reimbursement.
The court discussed splitting the $10,000 several ways (one suggestion was approximately $2,500 per precinct) and noted that general fund rules could affect whether unused funds roll forward. County staff also reported work toward allowing bonds and bail to be processed over a network to reduce required JP travel, but they cited jail staffing and technical constraints that have delayed full implementation. The court treated the amendment as a separate agenda item and approved it by vote.
Practical effect: JPs will have a line in their budgets to reimburse mileage for official business; the transcript does not specify exact per-precinct amounts or a policy document with eligibility rules within the recorded discussion.
